The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index 2007 shows that of the 169 countries surveyed, Malaysia fell 32 placings from 92nd in 2006 to 124th in 2007. Malaysia was ranked 113th in 2005 and 122nd in 2004, respectively.

This is drastic drop in the international perception of press freedom in Malaysia and the most severe deterioration in recent years as well as a stark contrast to the gain of 21 spots achieved in 2006. This year's ranking is even worse than the 122nd spot in 2005.

Malaysia was cited as one of the countries where Internet bloggers and their families were harassed by government. This is a very ominous observation which has led to Malaysia's steep decline on the scale and reflects a serious concern over the quality of press freedom in the country.

Transparency International-Malaysia calls upon government to take all the necessary steps to improve Malaysia's standing in the index and rectify this sad state of affairs by paying close attention to the criteria used in compiling the index.

Among other weaknesses, we note that Malaysia still suffers from the problems of access to public or official information. We reiterate our call for a Freedom of Information Act as soon as possible.

Government needs to recognise that corruption breeds on lack of information and greater press freedom will go a long way towards the fight against corruption. Transparency International would like to highlight the important role of investigative journalism in helping to create a corruption-free society.

As Malaysia is a major trading nation and a member of the globalised economy, the government must realise that the Press Freedom Index and other international surveys are taken very seriously by the international community and foreign investors.

We hope government will do what is necessary to improve Malaysia's standing in international surveys such as the Press Freedom Index.

The writer is president of Transparency International-Malaysia